


By the River

by CoffeeNova



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Also this is a songfic, Coming to terms with his own actions, Desmond has a lot of stuff to work through, Especially after Azran, F/M, He needs some peace of mind, Oh, Spoilers for the prequel games, and his past, and moving on, getting over trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:14:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22177639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoffeeNova/pseuds/CoffeeNova
Summary: Desmond Sycamore thought he was irredeemable. That's why he ran. However, one late night, the two most important people he's ever loved and lost make a final return to show him that he is more than what he became.
Relationships: Desmond Sycamore & Desmond Sycamore's Daughter & Desmond Sycamore's Wife
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	By the River

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE if you wanna experience this fic to the fullest listen to this song either before you read, or while you read!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY50XnGKvRE

Desmond lay awake in bed, feeling as though the whole world rested upon his shoulders. Distant memories of a past long thought forgotten and discarded plagued his mind. His only solace were the stars in the sky as he stared out the window of his room. They twinkled, almost as though they were trying to comfort him. And so as he lay there, surrounded by the darkness of his past, he found his eyes grew heavy...

.....

As his eyes opened, he found himself standing within a pool of black. It was empty all around, devoid of anything all around.

_I will wait by the river_

He felt very...confused. What was the point of a dream so very empty?

_In the light of the moon_

A singular glowing orb appeared above him, drawing his attention as he looked up. It glowed softly, a beautiful, gentle glow. Not too bright. It took Desmond a moment to register it looked like- the moon. Huh.

_At the edge of the city_

Desmond stared at that moon for a long time. Was there even time? Was it even passing? As he gazed at the moon, unmoving, stubborn, he found he didn't care. His mind instead wandered...back to those thoughts from when he was awake. His daughter...she loved the moon...

_I will wait for you_

Tears rolled down Desmond's cheeks.

_Though I can't wait forever_

He wanted her back. He wanted to be with her.

_Someday I'll be dead and gone_

He knew he could easily join her. It wouldn't take much. He's contemplated it several times since the accident, with Raymond always there to bring him out of his dark thoughts.

_And I won't be forgiven_

But did he deserve to join her...? So sweet, and innocent...so kind, and compassionate...so unlike him.

_For what I've done_

Above his head, images appeared, each flowing gently as though they were being reflected in water.  
A cliff appeared, silhouetted by the moon- with the shadow of a man falling. Evan Barde. His blood was on his hands...it was his fault for not making his instructions more clear to that- **idiot.** He would never forgive Jakes for that. Even though it was his fault, truly...

_I will wait by the river_

The second image. Much clearer against the black sky, was the slow moving waves of water as they washed through Misthallery. He- he never intended for the town to flood. It technically wasn't his fault. But he...he felt guilty none the less. It showed in his eyes, and in the tenseness of his stance.

_I will wait by the river_

The third, was poor dear Loosha. Now that...he...he never intended...the beast got in the way. But..that was no excuse. This- he was directly responsible for this. She died because of him. Those children lost their friend because of him. He killed...what could've been the last of her species...

_I will wait by the river_

Tears started to well up in his eyes. The next image that appeared made his entire body jolt. Staring at him was the crying face of his little brother. He left him...all those years ago, he left him...and he's left him again. He could see the pain in those eyes, tears streaming down Theodore's little cheeks. He recognized that expression...its haunted him his entire life. It was how Theodore had reacted when he told him he was going to be adopted without him..

_I will wait by the river_

The final image was a punch to the gut. It was...it was his house. The house he built his family in. The house his beautiful wife and daughter...oh god.  
He felt like a knife was being twisted in his chest, as he watched the moving image of his house light up in flames, as his wife's face came into view, hand outstretched to him, the look in her eyes unforgettable. He didn't make it in time. He couldn't take her hand in time.

_I will cry out to heaven_

A sob shook his entire frame as he felt tears of his own streaming down his cheeks. He could do nothing but stare.

_As it rains down on me_

And as he stared, the image started to shift, the fire, the house, everything except her faded into the background as she seemed to step out into the darkness. She was...beautiful. Celestial in every sense of the word. Her spectral body was filled with stars that glittered gently.

_I will beg for forgiveness_

**_"Please...please...I'm so sorry...I've done so much.."_** He hiccuped, stretching a trembling hand up toward her as he fell forward onto his knees.

_Get down on my knees_

The second he hit the water, all of the images were wiped from the sky. It was just her, in all of her beauty. The water beneath him lit up as next to the moon, stars exploded into existence in the sky, surrounding his wife in an ethereal glow as she floated down towards him, a gentle smile on her face. Her hair, long and slightly darker than the rest of her, floated elegantly behind her, as though she were submerged in water. She couldn't look more like an angel if she tried.

_If I can't change the weather_

He had never felt more powerless than when he failed to save them. But she was here...she returned to him...

_Maybe I can change your mind_

**_"Please...stay with me...I can not be without you again..."_** Desmond begged, his expression twisted into one of pain and anguish as he watched his lost love float mere inches away from him.

_If we can't be together_

She did nothing but smile, and give a slow shake of her head. She didn't say a word, she didn't make a single other move, she simply stared, the same sadness currently in Desmond's eyes permeating her entire being.

_What's the point of life?_

**_"Then you...you should have stayed gone! Why do you return to torment me so?"_** He didn't intend on shouting, truly he didn't. However, he did, and as he did so, star-flecked tears begun to stream down her cheeks, rolling off and falling as crystalline diamonds into the water below, and she faded once again into the sky behind her.

_Baby, I didn't mean the things I said_

Panic gripped Desmond so hard he swore he was being strangled, his entire body frozen in place as the weight of what he just uttered to the love of his life set in.

_I don't honestly wish you were dead_

**_"Wait, come back! Please, do not leave me alone again! I- I've missed you- I just want you with me!"_ **

_I'm a fool; I'm just a man_

Desmond's gaze was finally pried away from the sky, instead his head hung low, staring into the water below. The reflection that stared back at him however, was not that of Desmond Sycamore. Instead, the blank gaze of the porcelain mask stared back at him. He had become the monster his alter ego had always been made out to be. He was the villain in his story now. His love would never accept him like this. Of course not.

_If I only could hold you again_

Resigned to his fate, Desmond no longer had the energy to hold himself up, falling backwards. However he didn't fall into the water, instead, he found his body felt weightless as he floated downwards in the expanse of the space around him. His tears, however, were defying gravity. Desmond marveled for a brief moment as he stared. His tears were just like hers...flowing upward in a stream of stardust.

_And the stars fill the river_

They almost seemed to be flowing into the very sky itself, extending far beyond what they should be able to, moving like a trickling stream.

_As it flows into the sky_

Maybe that's what this strange dream world was made of. The tears of those lost. Of those hurt. Of those who've made mistakes...

_And the mind leaves the body_

Desmond felt the will to fight against this dream leaving his system, his eyes closing for just a moment as he blinked, slowly....  
And when he opened them again, he found himself staring up at- Descole. Staring up at himself.  
He...he was crying as well. An arm stretched out to him, extended, palm up, asking Desmond silently to take it.

_And floats higher and higher_

They seemed to gravitate around each other, stars orbiting around them. Descole's cape seemed to flutter, despite the lack of air, a nebula swirling within it.  
And as he reached out, taking that hand extended to him, he felt peace wash over him. And with another slow, tired blink...he opened his eyes again to see- his wife. In her previous spectral form, holding tightly to his hand. She was still crying, her own tears joining the stream along with his, but she was smiling...  
And holding to his other hand...was his daughter, in a form identical to that of her mother. She was grinning, so very widely...and Desmond could see the happiness and joy in her eyes, despite her own tears flowing and joining together with her parents'...

_If we can't be together_

Desmond refused to let go. He would never let go again. And yet, as he held on, he felt the weight of everything, the guilt, the shame, the anger, the longing...it all started to fade away.

_I will leave this world behind_

He felt the energy around him shift, as instead, they began pulling him upwards, through the stars that surrounded them, towards the moon. The stars around him became a blur of gold and silver against black as he moved. It was slow, but the world was moving so fast...

_If I can't touch your body_

He found that he didn't actually feel their hands in his...he realized after a moment, that the woman and child next to him were gone. His wife...his...his love...she was gone. His daughter with her. It sunk into him. For a moment, he felt all of that weight come smashing back onto him, before he took a breath, and with a deep exhale, it seemed to simply dissolve...

_Can I touch the sky?_

He had never felt lighter. And as his eyes refocused, he found himself staring at the moon, closer than would ever be possible. He stretched his hand out, feeling the energy of the world around him swirl around it.

_I will wait by the river_

He took a deep breath in, and blinked, and just like that, the moon was gone.

_I will wait by the river_

Another deep breath, another blink, and the stars were gone as well.

_I will wait by the river_

As his hand slowly fell back to his side, he felt himself floating downwards. Met with nothing but a void before his eyes, he closed them, and took a final breath.

_I will wait by the river._

The next time his eyes opened, he found himself staring up once again at the metal ceiling of the Bostonious. A quick glance out the window told him it was still night. He need not look at the clock, for he didn't care what time it was. He knew only one thing. He may have been a horrible man in the recent past, but he would no longer let that define him. He would be better. He would be better, for the memory of his wife, who loved him unconditionally. And for the memory of his dear daughter...who he was sure was the voice in his head reassuring him at this very moment. It would take a lot of work to make up for what he has done, but...he would do it.

So, for the first time in **years,** Desmond Sycamore rolled over in bed, staring at the two especially bright stars that twinkled happily at him, took a deep breath, and fell back into a dreamless sleep with a smile on his face.


End file.
